Snow Day
by missionYCO
Summary: Dib and Zim are assigned to the same cabin during a field trip, but after some of the students harass Zim the two find themselves spending more time together than they had expected.
1. Chapter 1

Dib stared out the window of the bus as it slowly wound its way up the increasingly snowy mountain. His class was taking a weekend trip to a mountain resort so that Ms. Bitters could drone on for two days about the doomed nature of the mountain and how the tourists, themselves included, were just dooming it further. He sighed as a wad of paper hit the side of his head, followed by a chorus of laughter. By this point Dib was just ignoring the occupants of the bus because they had been throwing around random school supplies for the last half hour, most of them directed towards him. He glanced sidelong at Zim. The alien was glowering in his seat, immensely displeased at this required trip to a filthy human mountain covered in filthy frozen water. Dib had to admit Zim had done a decent job attempting to get out of the field trip but when Dib called his humanity into question the alien gave up and very begrudgingly agreed to go on the trip. Dib looked out the window again just in time to see a beat up rusted old sign announcing the cabins being 20 miles away. A pencil lodged itself into his hair scythe and he sighed again. He couldn't wait until he was off the bus.

* * *

><p>"Alright class, pick a number from this box. Those of you who have the same number will be in the same doomed cabin together." Ms. Bitters held out a black cardboard box and shook it slightly. One by one the students each took a number, some of them high-fiving each other as they ended up in cabins together. Dib grabbed his number and looked around to see if anyone had grabbed the same number yet. It didn't appear that anyone had picked Dib's number so he stood off to the side and watched conspicuously as the remaining students picked out numbers. A few of the students avoided Dib, hoping they didn't have his number, until they found out Dib wasn't their cabin mate and relief flooded their faces. Eventually only a few students were left and as they dwindled and found their partners Dib turned back towards Ms. Bitters as the last student came up to get their number. A grin spread across Dib's face as he watched Zim grab his number, the same number Dib held in his hand; this would make keeping an eye on the alien an easy task. Zim scrutinized his number as if it would tell him who his partner was, his eyes darting upward as Dib slinked over to him. Zim looked between the two papers they held, both with the same number, his eyes going wide. He jumped back.<p>

"I will not share a cabin with the Dib-beast!" Zim pointed at Dib, the numbered paper clenched in his other hand. Several of the students turned and stared. Ms. Bitters materialized next to Zim and growled as she leaned menacingly over him.

"You _will_ be in the same cabin together and you will _like_ it."

Zim shrunk back from the teacher and nodded weakly. Zim righted himself, growling slightly under his breath after Ms. Bitters moved away. He glared at Dib, who was still grinning, before turning and marching off.

* * *

><p>Dib threw open the door to the cabin he and Zim were sharing and strode in. Zim was having trouble finding the cabin so he hadn't made it before Dib, giving the human time to rig the place with spy cameras he had gotten in a magazine. The alien wouldn't be able to so much as move without Dib knowing about it.<p>

Eventually Zim found the cabin, no thanks to Dib. He eyed the other students outside suspiciously before slamming the door shut and turning around. He came face to face with Dib and let out a yelp before growling and skirting around the human. Dib grinned to himself and turned to continue watching Zim as he made his way further into the cabin.

"It's just you and me Zim. You can't escape!" Dib gloated, his hands behind his back. Zim eyed him with distrust.

"Foolish human! This cabin cannot contain the mighty ZIM!" Despite his speech the alien still stepped further away from Dib, eyeing his arms behind his back. Dib's grin spread and he stepped towards Zim, causing him to dash away but he only ended up cornering himself. Dib advanced on Zim and he panicked, looking around for something to throw at the Dib-beast. When the human was almost on top of him, Zim extended his pak legs and drew himself up to the ceiling. A look of surprise crossed Dib's face as Zim glowered down at him.

"What now _Dib_? You—eh?" Zim was high enough up to see what the human had behind him… absolutely nothing.

"You have _nothing_! Zim will not be fooled by your _tricks_!" He laughed manically. Dib let his hands drop to his sides.

"I wasn't _trying_ to trick you but you thought I had something so I went with it. Next time I might actually have something but if you assume I'm tricking you, it'll just be that much easier to get close to you." Dib's grin turned cocky as he backed away. He laughed as he exited the main room and entered the bedroom, leaving Zim's line of sight. The alien stared after him, his eyes widening.

"Accursed human! You will never trick Zim!" He laughed harder than before, dislodging himself from the ceiling and falling gracelessly to the floor, making an 'oof!' sound as the air left him.

* * *

><p>Dib finished unpacking just before nightfall after participating in school activities most of the day. It had been hard to keep an eye on Zim during this time because the alien kept darting off in an attempt to avoid the humans and activities as much as possible. Luckily Ms. Bitters was scarily observant and kept dragging the squirming and complaining alien back.<p>

Dib looked over to the other bed in the room, Zim's bed. It hadn't been touched at all and when he thought about it Dib realized that he hadn't seen Zim's bag since that morning, when they had all gotten off the bus. Dib eyed the living room suspiciously while slowly exiting the bedroom. He looked around for Zim but the alien was nowhere to been found, even in the bathroom. Dib decided to take the opportunity to try and find Zim's bag while he was gone, silently hoping the alien wasn't up to anything terrible.

Dib started in the bathroom since that's where he was. The sink area was easy enough to check, just a pedestal sink with Dib's various hygiene items stacked on it. He looked behind the toilet and in its tank before staring at the shower. The curtain was closed. Dib crept close to the curtain, briefly thinking about being ambushed from inside the shower, before throwing the curtain back. The rings chimed against the curtain rod, startling Dib, but the shower was empty. He let out the breath he was holding and finally left the bathroom.

The living room, if it could even be called that, was a small room with the bedroom and bathroom affixed to it. There were two windows, both covered by hideous curtains, and a single couch facing a small fireplace next to the front door. Dib started with the couch, pulling the cushions off, turning it over, and searching the inside. Finding nothing but lint and old bottle caps in the couch he searched the curtains, the corners, and even in the fireplace, but Zim's bag wasn't in the living room.

Dib started to head back into the bedroom, the only place left to search, when the cabin door slammed open and Zim walked in. Dib looked between the bedroom door and Zim, contemplating making a dash for it, but it was too late and Zim had already spotted him. The two stared at each other for a moment, Zim suspicious about the human, and Dib wondering what to do. Suddenly he dashed into the bedroom. Zim made a noise of confusion and ran after him, sliding to a stop in the bedroom doorway to find Dib wiggling under the bed that had been designated 'his'. Zim made a choking noise and grabbed at Dib's ankles, pulling him out from under the bed. The human had found his bag and was clutching it to his chest, trying to get the zipper open so he could examine its contents. They struggled briefly as both of them tried to control the bag, each grabbing one side and pulling away from the other. The skirmish didn't last long and suddenly they both fell back as the zipper tore open, flinging the contents of the bag around the room. Dib made random noises as items landed on him before he pulled them off of himself, staring at one of the offending objects in confusion. He looked around the room, taking in the strewn about contents before looking at Zim.

"Jackets? You hid your bag and it's filled with nothing but _jackets_?" Dib was confused but still ended up laughing, unable to believe it. Zim jumped up to his feet and glared at the human.

"Why do you laugh at Zim? This is perfectly normal _human_ attire for this climate!" He picked up one of the jackets and shook it at Dib, whose own trench coat was missing in favour of a warmer jacket. Dib laughed harder.

"Yeah sure, but most _humans_ don't carry around a dozen jackets and _nothing else_."

Zim blanched. "Fool! I have other… supplies. But they are uh, eh… in my… _other_ bag. Yes." Zim looked around before scuttling off, leaving Dib to roll around on the floor in laughter.

* * *

><p>Dib sat in the doorway of the bedroom, watching Zim in the living room. The alien didn't appear to be going to bed anytime soon so Dib wasn't going to go to bed anytime soon either. Zim was tinkering with something in his lap, occasionally looking over his shoulder at the human. Dib had tried getting closer to find out what Zim was doing but every time he was just about to find out, the alien ran away and hid his… thing. Dib decided it was better to just watch Zim from a distance otherwise he'd be chasing him around the cabin all night without result. Besides, Zim would have to move at some point to do whatever it was he was going to do with his… thing.<p>

* * *

><p>The sun was peeking through the curtains when someone banged on the door, startling Dib awake. He had fallen asleep in the bedroom doorway and no doubt had an indent running up his face from sleeping against the door. Dib looked around the cabin franticly but Zim was nowhere to be seen again. He stood up and was about to search the cabin when the door slammed open and one of the other students eyed the inside of the cabin suspiciously before spotting Dib and yelling at him.<p>

"Hey weirdo! Ms. Bitters says you're late, so hurry up!" The student ran off before Dib could respond. He glanced around the cabin once more before grudgingly following the other student. He'd have to find Zim later.

* * *

><p>"Oof!" Dib landed face first in a snow drift after Chunk pushed him, a chorus of laughter following the event. Dib started to get up but ended up twisting around and landing on his back as his jacket was pulled off him.<p>

"Hey! That's my jacket!" Dib's voice pitched as he got up and tried to grab at his jacket. The student holding it just moved away and pushed Dib back.

"The Dib-beast can't even defend his jacket!" Zim came up behind the students and looked smugly at Dib. "How do you expect to stop me _Dib_? Hey!" Zim's gloating was cut short as his jacket was yanked off of him as well. Zim turned to face the school children but they just laughed at Zim as well and ran off with the jackets. Zim growled at their retreating figures before turning and stomping off towards the cabin. With nothing else to do, and too cold to want to, Dib got up and followed Zim.

* * *

><p>Dib shivered against the cold as he attempted to start the electric fireplace. He had changed clothes as soon as he got back to the cabin but the snow had done its toll and he was contemplating taking a long, hot shower to raise his temperature again, but that would have to wait for now. Zim had stomped all the way back to the cabin, through the living room, and into the bedroom where he picked up one of his many jackets and angrily put it on before stomping off to the bathroom where he locked himself in. Dib decided he was probably tinkering with his… thing again. At least that meant it wasn't ready to be used yet, whatever it was, but it also meant Dib was stuck trying to warm up with the fireplace which he just couldn't get started. After several more minutes of trying without success he sighed and looked over his shoulder at the bedroom, several of the jackets visible through the doorway. His eyes darted to the bathroom door and then back to the bedroom. Slowly he stood up and crept towards the bedroom, watching the bathroom door along the way. He paused and listened for a moment, but Zim was still just tinkering with his… thing, so Dib continued forth. He entered the bedroom and looked over the jackets for one that wasn't so… pink. Finally spotting one buried under the others that was dark brown he sighed and carefully moved over to it. Dib picked it up and eyed it with distain, but he was cold and he wasn't going to find anything better so he put it on and blanched at the cold material as it contacted his skin. Dib shivered as the jacket began to warm up, gradually becoming more comfortable.<p>

The bathroom door opened suddenly and Dib's eyes shot to it, his momentary happiness for warmth gone. Zim walked out, looking around in suspicion before his eyes stopped on Dib.

"You!" He pointed at Dib and ran over to him. "You _dare_ wear the MIGHTY Zim's jacket? Take it off!" He reached for the jacket but Dib swatted his hand away and stepped back.

"Forget it! You have a dozen jackets and I don't have one anymore. You can deal with one less!" Dib pulled the jacket tighter around himself, silently challenging Zim with his eyes. The alien growled at him, looking between the jacket and Dib's face. He seemed to decide it wasn't worth it and stormed off.

"Fine Dib-beast, you can keep the jacket!" He called over his shoulder as he went into the living room. Dib smiled despite himself; a small victory was still a victory.

* * *

><p>The sun was starting to set and Dib was drifting off. Ms. Bitters had been yelling at him all day for almost falling asleep (and in one case completely falling asleep) but he'd only gotten about an hour of sleep the night before, and seeing as this was their last night he didn't think he was going to get any more tonight. After all, someone had to watch the green alien.<p>

Dib sleepily shuffled back to the cabin while trying to avoid the other students, especially Chunk, so that he wouldn't have to try and commandeer another jacket from Zim's stash as he was pretty sure he wouldn't get away with it again. He pushed the cabin door open only to be greeted by a dark void.

"Zim?" He slowly stepped into the cabin, searching for the light switch. No response. Dib glanced behind himself before stepping further into the cabin, still looking for the light switch.

"You can't surprise me Zim, I know you're there!" Dib called out, louder this time. His hand hit the switch on the wall and his eyes closed in response to the bright assault. He forced his eyes open despite the burning sensation as his eyes tried to adjust to the influx of light. The cabin appeared to be empty but Dib wasn't taking any chances. He checked the bedroom first, then the bathroom (making sure to check the shower again) but apparently Zim really hadn't come back to the cabin yet. Dib's eyes narrowed.

'_What is he up to?_' He ran back out of the cabin to look for Zim.

Dib spend a good portion of the night looking for the alien to no avail. He weakly pushed the cabin door open and flopped down onto the couch, stifling a yawn as he looked at his watch. Maybe he could rest for just a few minutes before looking for Zim again. He closed his eyes.

'_Just a few… minutes…_' He thought as he drifted off.


	2. Chapter 2

Dib awoke to Zim laughing manically as the ground rumbled and a roaring noise engulfed the cabin.

"Zim! What did you do?" Dib worriedly looked up at the ceiling as the cabin shook and rumbled, little bits of dust and woodchips falling from the rafters. Zim continued to laugh, ignoring Dib until the lights went out. Zim's laugh cut off suddenly with a choking noise. The rumbling continued for another couple minutes before stopping abruptly, the entire cabin encased in darkness and completely silent without even a hum of electricity.

"Zim!" Dib called out, waving his arms in front of himself hoping he'd hit the alien first if he tried to attack him. Dib heard Zim clear his throat in the dark, recomposing himself.

"Haha! Weak, pitiful _humans_! I didn't even use a _powerful_ explosive; that was a mere toy!" Zim continued laughing, still ignoring Dib's ranting.

"You blew something up? What did you blow up Zim?" He grew increasingly frustrated as Zim continued laughing. Dib edged towards the laughing, swinging his arms around until he finally hit the alien. Zim gurgled and fell to the floor, kicking widely and knocking Dib's legs out from under him, throwing him to the floor. The air escaped him as he hit the ground.

"Accursed human!" Zim shuffled around, getting back to his feet. He pointed in the vague direction of Dib in the darkness. "I have won, you cannot demand an answer from your master! Hahaha!" Zim began laughing again.

"You didn't win _anything_ Zim! You're just as trapped here as I am! We're both _trapped_!" Dib yelled in frustration. Zim laughed for a moment longer before his voice trailed off. Dib could hear him walk away from him and one of the curtains slide back, but no light came through. Zim ran over towards the door and slammed into the wall instead before feeling his way to the door, making concerned noises all the way. Dib heard him tugging on the door handle but it wasn't opening and Zim growled at it, pulling harder. His pak legs slid out and thunked against the door, presumably giving Zim more leverage, but this tactic also failed and Zim fell back as his gloved hands slid off the door handle.

"_CURSE YOU! _" Zim shook his fist at the door, silently commanding it to open. Dib stood up and felt around for the couch as something to hold onto. He heard Zim jump to his feet.

"What do you know, _human_? Why are we trapped? MY PLAN WAS FLAWLESS!"

"We're trapped because _you_ blew something up on a SNOW COVERED MOUNTAIN. You caused an avalanche Zim!"

"Avalanche? Tell me of this 'avalanche'."

Dib sighed, mentally imagining Zim using air quotes. "You don't know anything do you?" Zim blanched but Dib continued without giving him a chance to speak. "An avalanche is caused by too much snow building up on the surface of bodies of snow and then this build-up falls. _Usually_ this snow is removed by causing _controlled_ avalanches when no one is around, but of course we'd go to a place that isn't kept up…" Dib glared in the general direction of Zim in the dark. "_Why_ did you blow something up anyway?"

"You _foolish_ humans dare to mess with the mighty ZIM!"

Dib thought about this for a moment. "Wait… this was about the _jackets_? You have twelve of them!"

Zim growled. "This was not about the _measly_ jackets, Dib-human! Those _foolish_ humans thought they could do as they pleased with a mighty Invade—er… the mighty ZIM!"

"I know you're an alien, so stop pretending!" Dib yelled out in frustration. There wasn't even enough light for his eyes to be able to see just a little bit. He was concerned about Zim doing something and him not being able to fight back.

"Never! I am NORMAL!"

* * *

><p>Dib shivered, pulling the jacket closer to his body. The temperature had been gradually dropping the longer they were under the snow. Occasionally the cabin would creak, worrying Dib. Did anyone know they were in there? Was anyone looking for them? Was anyone else trapped in their own cabins, or worse under the snow itself? Dib looked around despite its uselessness, suddenly noticing it was quieter. Zim wasn't making any noise and this unnerved Dib. Was the alien planning something?<p>

"Zim?" Nothing. "Hey, Zim. Don't make me look for you again." Not that Dib was going to run around swinging his arms incase Zim was laying a trap for him, but the alien didn't need to know that. Suddenly sparks shot out of Zim's pak and Dib could see briefly. The alien was on the other side of the room and his normally reflective eyes were dull and lifeless. The pak shocked Zim's body and his eyes lit up again just before the sparks disappeared and Dib couldn't see anymore. Dib's heart was beating rapidly, the sound invading his own ears. Zim was making small noises again, driving home just how quiet it was before.

"Zim?" Dib meekly asked, cursing himself for having been startled. The alien shifted.

"What do you want Dib-beast?" He sounded normal at least.

"What… what just happened?"

"Eh? I don't know what you're talking about." Zim responded defensively. Dib breathed deeply.

"Did you _die_? Your backpack thing was sparking and it seemed to, I don't know… restart you, I guess."

Zim made an odd noise. "Nonsense! I am _ZIM!_ I cannot die!"

Dib became frustrated. "Look you! If there's something wrong with you, just tell me! I don't want to see you die again. It was… disturbing." Dib shivered as he remembered the dull, lifeless eyes he had seen. Zim didn't respond and Dib freaked out for a moment before noticing the alien was still making noise, so he hadn't croaked again.

"Look… you're not going to… self-destruct or something if you die, are you?" Dib was beginning to think the snow bearing down on the cabin wasn't his only problem. Zim didn't respond again.

"Come on Zim, it isn't like you to just ignore me." Nothing. "Just say _something._ Look, I can hear you alright. I know you didn't die again." Dib listened closely. Zim was making less noise. Dib imagined Zim's heart, or whatever organ he might have powering him, stopping and a mechanical timer counting down before the alien exploded. He groaned and stuck a hand out in front of himself before standing up and slowly walking in the direction he had seen Zim earlier. Eventually his hand came into contact with the alien and Dib pulled back instantly, but Zim didn't appear to react.

"Zim?" He could still hear Zim breathing, or whatever it was he did, but he wasn't responsive. Dib reached out and poke him gingerly, noting Zim's cold flesh. He poked harder and finally Zim responded, jerking up and yelping at Dib's proximity.

"Foul earth monkey! You dare try to ambush the mighty ZIM?" He reached out blindly and shoved Dib away, who grunted as he fell back onto the floor.

"I wasn't trying to ambush you Zim!" Dib yelled. His voice lowered a bit. "You weren't responding, I even poked you several times! I don't want to be blown up you know."

Zim growled at him. "You won't blow up, stupid human! Now _go away!_" He growled. Dib growled back in frustration and stayed back from Zim, but didn't move any further away than he already was. He couldn't see a thing but at least now he was close enough to do _something_ if the alien decided to die off again. _What_ that something was Dib didn't know.

* * *

><p>Dib jerked awake, looking around the dark instinctively. It took him a moment to gather his wits and remember the situation he was in and when he did he attempted to locate the alien he was sharing the cabin with.<p>

"Zim?" Dib waited for a response and was about to start poking around until he hit something when the alien spoke.

"What do you want earth-monkey?" Zim finally responded quietly, his voice agitated. Dib relaxed slightly.

"Just making sure you aren't dead." Dib still contemplated the idea that Zim would explode should he die. Zim scoffed.

"Foolish human! I am not so easily defeated." Zim replied, but his normal boisterous voice was subdued. Dib frowned in the dark.

"Are you sure you're alright? You don't sound like… well, yourself." Dib moved slightly closer to where he thought Zim was, trying not to freak the alien out in the process.

Zim shifted. "I told you I am not so easily defeated, fool boy!" His voice was louder slightly, as if he was trying to put on a front.

"Liar!" Dib didn't believe the alien for a moment, and there was no way he was going to let Zim take him down with him.

"Tell me what's wrong with you or I'm going to come over there and find out myself!" Dib noisily shifted to prove his point, causing Zim to make a displeased noise.

"There is nothing wrong with Zim! I am mighty and indestructible!" Zim yelled out. Dib shifted again. "Eh? Stay away you stink beast!" Zim attempted to back away but he'd wedged himself against the fireplace and he couldn't escape without going through the path the human currently occupied.

"Tell me what's wrong with you or I'm going to come closer!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Zim bellowed. Dib lunched towards Zim, making the alien yelp in surprise.

"Away!" Zim's pak legs came out and attempted to dislodge the human from his torso. Dib swatted at the weakened mechanical legs but they still managed to get a few good hits in on him, one of them poking him in the face.

"Ow! Just hold still Zim or you're going to get us both hurt; you already trapped us in this stupid cabin!"

"That was YOUR fault, human!" Zim retorted.

"My fault? How is this MY fault? You blew up the mountain!" Dib grabbed at the legs but couldn't keep them contained.

"You enticed the human stink beasts into running off with your jacket and when _I_ attempted to mock you, they turned on ME! It's YOUR fault Dib!" Zim pushed Dib off of him with the help of his pak legs and scuttled over the human before he could recover, wedging himself in another corner of the room. He activated a light on the end of one of the pak legs and pointed it at the human lying on the floor.

Dib winced as the light hit his eyes and threw an arm over his face to protect his sight. "If you had a light why didn't you turn it on earlier?" Dib tried to open his eyes but the light was still too strong to his deprived eyes.

Zim laughed. "Haha simple human! I didn't _need_ a light to keep an eye on you! Foolish, weak human!" He continued to laugh.

"Then why do you need the light _now_ Zim?" Dib asked, his voice cocky. Zim's laugh cut off.

"Eh? Uh, eh… lies!"

The light clicked off and Dib slowly removed his arm from his eyes.

"Just admit you need the light to see and turn it back on." Dib wouldn't be able to see for a while but after his eyes readjusted to the light he'd be able to watch Zim's every move again. The alien didn't respond.

"Zim? Just turn the light back on!" Dib was frustrated with the alien's stubbornness. He still didn't respond.

"Come on Zim, don't be so stubborn!" Dib yelled, his voice echoing in the small space. Zim growled.

"I'm conserving energy!" Right after he said it Dib heard Zim smack his gloved hands over his mouth. Dib grinned, knowing the alien had said something he shouldn't have.

"What _kind_ of energy, Zim? Huh, huh? Are you powering that light yourself? Huh?" Dib forgot momentarily about their previous argument, excited about the prospect of finding out more about the alien.

"LIES! You speak LIES!" Zim screeched, giving himself away.

"What, really? So wait… does that mean you're running out of energy? So _that's_ why you uh… died earlier?" If the alien was running out of whatever power he required, Dib didn't know if there was anything he could do for Zim and he might end up stuck with a dead, self-destructing alien carcass.

"LIES!"

"Shut up Zim! Be serious."

Zim scoffed but didn't say anything else. Dib contemplated the situation for a moment before speaking again.

"Is there anything we can uh… power you with? Lights are out so food or heat I guess…" Dib would be the first to admit he didn't want to help his enemy, but he also didn't want to find out what happened if the alien died for real and he wasn't going to believe Zim's word that he wouldn't explode.

"Fool! I do not require your pitiful earth sustenance."

"Stop calling me a fool! And I said stop being so stubborn! Look… if you die, you can't complete your mission can you? Can you Zim?" Dib knew he was hitting a bit below the belt, but he didn't _really_ want Zim to die. Zim made a choking noise.

"Unless you want to fail your mission tell me what kind of power you can use!"

"There is nothing you can do, Dib-beast! I am expending too much energy, and yelling at you isn't helping any! Just leave me alone and I'll be happy." Zim quieted down again, shifting against the wall. Dib stared blankly into the darkness, somewhat surprised by Zim's reaction.

"Well isn't there a way for you to expend _less_ energy? Shut down uh… unnecessary systems or something? Like those… spider legs of yours?" Dib was also trying to make Zim less of a threat, at least for the time being. Zim scoffed.

"I don't work that way _Dib_." Zim's voice was accusing. Dib frowned.

"Look I'm just trying to help you here! Well what are you expending the _most_ energy on, maybe we can do something about that?" Dib was about ready to just attack the alien and dismantle that pak of his if he didn't stop avoiding help.

"Even your pitiful mind should be able to understand that it's cold. Despite my _far superior_ physiology, I still require a certain amount of heat _Dib_."

"Hey! Alright, just… just turn your light thingy back on and I'll see if I can get the fireplace working again."

Nothing happened for a couple of minutes until finally Zim's pak started making noise and the light on the end of the pak leg came back on, shining directly into Dib's face. He made a choked gargling noise and threw himself in front of the couch to block some of the light while rubbing at his pained eyes.

"You did that on purpose!" He yelled over the couch, still rubbing at his eyes. Zim laughed lightly.

"Nonsense pig-smelly!" Zim continued to chuckle to himself. Dib decided to ignore the alien and just get on with it. His eyes still burned from the light so he crawled over to the fireplace with one arm in front of his eyes. He bumped into the fireplace with his shoulder and lost his balance, falling face first onto the tile in front of the fireplace. Zim guffawed behind him.

"Shut up Zim! How come the light isn't blinding you anyways?" Dib growled at the alien as he sat back up, feeling around the fireplace with his hands.

"My eyes are far superior to your weak human ones!" Zim bellowed. One of Dib's hands landed on a fireplace poker in his exploration. He picked it up and chucked it in the general direction of Zim, grinning when it thwacked against the alien in a satisfying manner. The light clicked off again. After getting his revenge on the alien Dib continued along the fireplace until he found the front. The fireplace was electric (obviously a bunch of school children wouldn't be put into cabins with real fireplaces) and if Dib remembered correctly, the switch to turn it on was near the bottom. He fumbled around until his fingers hit the switch, and expecting it to come on and blind him he pulled back. Nothing happened. Gingerly he pressed the switch again but the fireplace still didn't come on. Dib sighed.

"You can't even turn on a fireplace you smelly human! Move!" Zim stood up and shuffled over to the fireplace, tripping over Dib in the process. Dib made a pained noise and moved away from the fireplace to avoid any more injuries. Zim clicked the switch several times without luck. He growled at the fireplace and thwacked it a couple of times for good measure.

After a few minutes of silence Dib spoke. "Maybe I can just start a fire myself. I think I can break up the shelving in the corner and I might be able to get a spark going, but that might be a bad idea because the smoke won't be able to vent…" Dib continued talking to himself. Zim growled at Dib under his breath and scooted away but noticed a distinct lack of warmth the further he moved from the human.

"Give me your warmth human!" Zim yelled out suddenly, startling Dib in the middle of his speech.

"What? I can't _give_ you my warmth Zim! I _produce_ it; I can't just hand it over."

Zim leapt in the general direction of Dib and landed on him, grabbing at his collar.

"How are you producing your warmth? REVEAL YOUR SECRETS SMELLY HUMAN!" Zim shook Dib vigorously. Dib grabbed at Zim's wrists and tried to pry his hands away from his collar.

"I told you Zim, _I_ produce it! I can't just give you it! Now stop shaking me!" Dib rolled over and dislodged the alien in the process. He backed away and leaned against the fireplace to regain his balance as his head spun from being shaken.

"You'd think you didn't make any heat yourself… stupid alien…" Dib closed his eyes despite the uselessness of the action.

Zim was silent for a suspicious amount of time before suddenly bursting out with "LIES!"

Dib jumped at the sudden outburst. "I didn't say anything! Wait… you're not talking about what I said a couple minutes ago are you? About you not producing heat?"

"LIES! I SAID NOTHING!"

"But-"

"LIES!"

"Stop saying that!"

"Only if you reveal your secret!"

"I don't have a secret, Zim! All _normal_ humans produce their own heat!" Dib jabbed at the alien's obvious abnormality. Zim choked.

"Of course! I knew this. I am normal!"


	3. Chapter 3

Dib drifted off after a while, unable to stay awake despite the biting cold. He frowned at the total darkness after waking up and tried to stretch out the stiffness in his limbs, but he found one of his arms pinned to his side. He used his other hand to feel around and find what had him pinned, jerking back when his fingers met cold skin.

"Zim?" Dib quickly squirmed away, freeing his arm in the process. He heard the alien shift in the darkness.

"What are you _doing_? " Dib scooted a bit further away.

"I am absorbing your 'heat' stupid earth monkey!" Zim stated as if it was obvious.

Dib stared in the general direction of the alien through the dark, incredulous. "I already told you, you can't have my heat Zim!" Dib couldn't believe Zim just wouldn't get the hint. He wasn't _that_ clueless.

"Fool! Your 'heat' radiates… like a miniature sun! You can keep your stupid human secrets; I'll just take your radiating heat!" Zim started laughing, like he had discovered some immense treasure that no one else knew about.

"I _know_ that humans radiate heat Zim, but we're not like… suns or whatever you said, we don't put off much heat! We lose our own heat quickly." Dib shivered as if to emphasize his point.

"Obviously you do not know your own abilities foolish human! Your heat is sufficient for my uses. Now let me make use of your wasted heat!" Zim noisily tried to move next to Dib again but the human kicked him away.

"No! I don't want to be any closer to you than I have to be!"

Zim growled at Dib's resistance. "You dare disobey me? The mighty ZIM?"

"You can't tell me what to do! So… yeah!"

Zim growled again. "Fine! You win _for__ now_, but I'll get your heat sooner or later _Dib_!"

* * *

><p>Dib struggled to stay awake. Whenever he thought he was drifting off, he swore he heard Zim shuffling closer and closer. In the absolute darkness of the cabin Dib couldn't help but imagine horrible scenes in his head of the moments to come.<p>

"Zim?" Dib hoped the alien would respond so that he could estimate how far away the parasite was. When he didn't respond, Dib's stomach leapt. Was Zim planning his attack?

"Hey Zim?" Still nothing. Dib stood up as quickly as his tired body allowed and shivered as the small pocket of warmth he had been cultivating drifted away. He moved further away from the last spot he knew Zim to be, hoping the alien hadn't moved. His mind was supplying him with vivid images of Zim hanging from the ceiling by those mechanical legs of his, spying on him with some sudden ability to see in the dark, getting ready to leap at him. Dib suddenly bumped into a wall and even his girly shriek didn't get the alien to respond, not even to mock him.

"Don't ignore me Zim!" Dib suddenly remembered the original reason Zim was trying to steal his warmth; he wasn't producing any himself and his body had shut down temporarily earlier from the cold. Dib knew that Zim's pak would revive him if he died but then he began wondering if it could eventually run out of power. Maybe Zim had already keeled over and his pak wasn't able to bring him back again.

Dib took a single step forward, refusing to move further. What if Zim was just messing with him? He could be walking into a trap. He didn't trust the alien as far as he could throw him, which admittedly wouldn't be very far, and he really wasn't in the mood to be ambushed. But if Zim _had_ died then he wasn't self-destructing or anything similar like Dib had been worried about. This relieved Dib for a moment until he realized that Zim could be _almost_ dead and still at risk for blowing them both sky high. He resolved himself and slowly continued forward, his arms sweeping the air in front of him wildly so he didn't bump into anything and yet he still managed to crash into the couch. He growled at the offending piece of furniture before moving around it, holding onto the couch arm for balance He tried to rouse Zim again.

"Stop playing around Zim! If you're going to ambush me, just do it! I'm ready!" Dib tensed up as he expected Zim to do just as he asked, but nothing happened. Dib stepped away from the couch and immediately ran into what he assumed was Zim's leg. The alien didn't move after a few seconds so Dib intentionally kicked at the limb using a bit more force than he anticipated, but he finally got a reaction out of Zim. The alien mumbled something unintelligible and weakly kicked back at Dib.

"You're not dead." Dib stated in Zim's general direction. The alien growled at him and kicked his leg again.

"Do I look dead to you pitiful human?" Zim finally spoke loud enough for Dib to understand him.

"No, that's what I just said. And stop kicking me!" Dib stepped back so Zim couldn't hit him anymore but that didn't stop the alien from trying, his boots occasionally squeaking against the wood floor.

"Shouldn't… shouldn't your pak thing have shocked you or something?" Dib mumbled.

"I wasn't _dead_ Dib-beast." Zim growled at the human he was still attempting to kick. Curse him for being so far away.

"Oh." Dib paused for a moment. "Are you still cold?" He spontaneously asked, regretting it instantly. He was almost glad he couldn't see because then he didn't have to look at the inevitably smug expression on the alien's face when Zim realized he had won. Dib cursed his desire to not be blown up.

"I'm hibernating for fun, stupid human." Zim bit out. Dib sighed at his stubbornness.

"If you'll stop _kicking_ me," Dib kicked at Zim's flailing legs to emphasize his point. "I'll… share my warmth… I guess…" Dib growled out the last part, his voice trailing off. After several moments of silence, Dib got frustrated with the alien not replying.

"Say some—"

"I will _allow_ you to keep me warm, pitiful human." Zim interrupted, sounding rather pleased, if not tired. Dib growled.

"You'll _allow_ me? I could just let you die from the cold, you know! You're not doing _me_ any favors!"

Zim shifted in the dark. "Oh well, then we'll both just die here…" He trailed off. Dib fidgeted.

"What do you mean? I thought you said you weren't going to blow up?"

Zim shrugged, disregarding the uselessness in the current light. "I don't remember what I said."

"Your pak would just bring you back, right?" Dib was wondering what was true or false now.

"I won't share my secrets _Dib_, fair is fair." Zim crossed his arms.

"Fair is fa… I told you I can't give you my warmth, Zim! There is no… _grand __secret_, or special ability!"

Zim jumped up, the sudden noise startling Dib. "You can share your warmth, pig-smelly! You are being selfish! Just like every other stupid, useless _human_ on this stinky planet!" He leapt forward, trying to tackle the human to the ground but the couch was too close to them. Dib smacked into the arm of the couch and the two rolled off of it, Zim crashing to the floor away from Dib in the process. Dib cradled his head as it pounded from the impact while Zim attempted to right himself, his pak legs skittering against the floor.

"Okay wait, wait!" Dib stepped away from the flailing alien as he finally managed to get back to his feet.

"This isn't helping us! We're just using up what little energy we have left."

Zim growled, but didn't attempt to attack him again for the moment. Dib sighed.

"Look… I… I will _let_ you sit by me and get whatever small amount of heat I'm putting off, but you can't touch me and you can't try to kill me, obviously." Dib wasn't pleased with this scenario, but he was worn out and cold and the alien constantly trying to attack him wasn't any better. Zim didn't respond, so when his boots clunked against the floor as he walked, the sound startled Dib.

"Very well, pathetic earth monkey." Zim was standing directly next to Dib. He leaned away from the alien subconsciously. "I will not attempt to kill you… for now." The alien sat down, his boots brushing against Dib as he adjusted himself. Dib leaned back against the couch, sighing mentally.

'_This__ is __going__ to __be__ a __long __night__…_'

* * *

><p>Dib fidgeted. Zim had been slowly scooting closer to the human throughout the night until finally they had moved completely away from the couch and were near the fireplace now. The alien had been lying on Dib's arm for a while now and it was starting to tingle. Zim didn't move much since they had moved from the couch but whenever Dib was concerned that he had died off again, he prodded at him and the alien was quick to respond. Unfortunately Dib wasn't receiving an immediate benefit from the situation and he was occasionally still shivering; Zim's body was just absorbing all of his radiant heat and the cabin was becoming colder and colder. His sense of time was terrible, but he was hoping it was sometime near morning and that the entire camp hadn't been engulfed by the avalanche so that someone would be able to look for them.<p>

Dib pushed on Zim. "Stop leaning on my arm, your making it fall asleep."

Zim pushed back and eventually Dib gave up and Zim fell onto his arm again, but with more pressure than before. "Your arm does not require sleep human!" Zim argued.

"It… not that kind of sleep! Just get off me." Dib pushed Zim away and succeeded in leaning the alien against the wall instead. Zim growled in annoyance.

"When I die it will be all your fault Dib!"

"You're not going to die sitting half a foot from me!"

Zim ignored Dib and scooted closer again. Dib scooted away. They continued this until Dib hit the side of the fireplace and couldn't move any further. He stood up instead, earning a growl from the alien.

"You gave me your warmth Dib! You can't take it back!" Zim attempted to grab at Dib to make him sit back down but the human stepped away and Zim hit the floor with his face. He growled and lunged at the human in the dark, knocking him over. The two struggled for a moment before Dib kicked Zim off of him and into the fireplace. He yelped as Zim's pak sparked and blinded him for a moment. Zim was launched out of the fireplace and smacked into the opposite wall at the same time as the fireplace kicked on, the fake log lighting up. Dib was still covering his eyes from the initial spark as the heat slowly began to fill the room and creep up his legs. In surprise he opened his eyes and regretted it as the light from the fireplace blinded him again. Zim groaned behind him as he stood up. He faced the fireplace.

"Ah ha! I AM AWESOME!"

Dib groaned as his eyes throbbed. The fireplace was worse than Zim's stupid little light earlier. After attempting to look around the room again Dib gave up and scurried behind the couch, where at least it was a bit darker. Zim continued to gloat near him.

"Haha what now earth monkey? You are useless to me! I have my own warmth now." Zim mocked Dib and headed closer to the fireplace so he could make optimal use of the artificial heat the electric fireplace was producing. Dib groaned behind the couch.

"Like I wanted to share my warmth with you anyways you smelly alien!" The couch muffled Dib's words on their way to the alien on the other side.

* * *

><p>The inside of the cabin was a fairly comfortable temperature several hours later but as the heat sucked the moisture out of the air Dib also began to notice a significant lack of air. Zim was ignoring everything but the fireplace and Dib had begun drinking like a fish from the faucet some time ago. Dib was finally able to uncover his eyes and he had been staring at the back of Zim's head the entire time. He didn't trust the alien to begin with and now that Zim was at full capacity again he trusted him even less.<p>

Suddenly Zim stood up from his spot by the fireplace and faced Dib.

"I feel a million times better!" He glared smugly at the human across from him. "What about you _Dib_? Is your puny human body failing?"

Dib growled at the alien. Now that Zim wasn't in danger of shutting down, he couldn't care less what happened to Dib. Dib would have to figure out some way to get out of the cabin before he ran out of air. Did Zim need air?

* * *

><p>Dib jerked awake. He kept drifting off as he became less and less able to breathe. Zim appeared to be doing just fine though and occasionally Dib caught him messing with something from his pak. He was suspicious of the green alien.<p>

"What are you doing Zim?" Dib attempted to startle the alien but he wasn't able to speak very loudly and Zim just turned further away to hide what he was doing, peeking over his shoulder in paranoia. Dib sighed and went back to making an escape plan.

"Curse you!" Zim yelled out suddenly, startling Dib. He clutched at his chest and tried to calm his breathing so he wasn't using so much precious air. Whatever Zim had been messing with went back into his pak as he began pacing across the room in front of the fireplace. Dib stared at the alien until he noticed and stopped pacing, clearing his throat as if he wasn't acting odd.

Dib continued to stare at the him for several minutes until Zim broke down.

"Stop staring at me Dib-beast! You know nothing!" He yelled at Dib before darting off into the bedroom, out of eyesight of the human. Dib was confused by what had just happened. He spent a few moments trying to piece it together before deciding to just interrogate Zim. His tired body complained as he stood up and followed Zim into the bedroom. Zim was staring at and occasionally tapping a screen that had come from inside his pak but the screen was just showing static. Zim growled at the screen before letting it go back into his pak and noticing Dib at the same time. He made a surprised choking noise.

"You dare sneak up on the mighty Zim?" He pointed and yelled at Dib, his voice higher than normal. Dib ignored him.

"What were you doing, huh? Calling home? Trying to get your Tallest to come rescue you? What, the 'mighty Zim' can't save himself from a little snow?" Dib knew he was hitting below the belt but if it got Zim to get them out of there then it was worth whatever payback Zim would inevitably dish out. Zim growled.

"I NEED NO HELP FOOL BOY!" Zim ran past Dib back into the living room and knocked him over in the process. By the time Dib got back up and followed Zim into the living he was already rapidly tapping away at another device from his pak. The metal legs came out of the pak and aimed themselves at the ceiling. Dib ducked for cover as the legs shot out lasers and blew open the entire ceiling, making a hole straight through the several feet of snow above the cabin. Zim cackled and the legs retreated to be replaced by a rocket. As it powered up Dib realized he was about to be trapped again so he leapt forward and grabbed onto Zim just as he launched into the air, a confused garble leaving the alien's mouth.

Dib's weight offset the rocket and the two swirled through the air haphazardly while Zim tried to kick Dib off of him. He lost control and the two began rapidly losing altitude. It took far too long for either of them to realize this and Zim started screaming as they plummeted straight into the snow.

Dib pulled himself from the snow first, Zim sputtering and flailing about in the toxic substance behind him. Dib glared at the alien as he pulled himself from the snow they had cratered.

"Why didn't you do that earlier? We wouldn't have had to sit in that stupid cabin for over a day!" He kicked some snow at Zim's face, earning screaming and sputtering and Zim franticly wiped the offending semi-liquid from his face.

"I had no reason to, fool boy!" Zim bellowed after he had removed most of the snow from his person. Dib stared at him.

"What do you mean 'no reason'? You died, remember? That sounds like a good reason to me! Well not you dying… but if it was me!" Dib yelled back.

"It's none of your business Dib!" Zim yelled as he walked away. Dib ran after him.

"It is my business! I almost died too! Hey!" Dib was pulled back suddenly. He looked up to see Ms. Bitters glaring down at him.

"Uh… hi." He tried to shrink away from her. She responded by growling at him.

"Where have you been? The bus was supposed to leave _two__ hours __ago_ and school regulation requires me to make sure every student is on board, whether I want them there or not." She let go of Dib and slithered after Zim. Dib sighed in relief and begrudgingly headed for the bus. Zim refused to go on his own so Ms Bitters ended up dragging him to bus, kicking and screaming the entire way. She chucked him onto the bus and glared at Dib, threatening the same to him if he didn't get on the bus of his own fruition. He quickly boarded and slinked to the back where, to his dismay, the only seat left was the one Zim was currently climbing onto. Dib sighed and sat as far to the edge of the seat as he possibly could. The bus lurched forward and Dib ended up face first on the aisle of the bus. He ignored the other student's laughs as he climbed back into his seat and sat just a bit further in.

The bus began its slow decent back down the snowy mountain. Dib had drifted off into his mind when he noticed Zim was uncomfortably close. Dib didn't want to fall onto the floor again so he glared at Zim instead.

"What are you doing?"

Zim eventually turned and stared back at him.

"This filthy human contraption isn't heated."


End file.
